Assessment of Learning

Classroom assessment can be defined as the collection, interpretation, and use of information to help teachers
make better decisions. Thus, assessment is more than testing and measurement.

Why?
Classroom assessment plays an important role in student achievement. Classroom assessment is the process of
gathering evidence of what a student knows, understands, and is able to do. It can also help to identify students'
learning needs.

How?
Teachers set specific criteria based on learning outcomes and expected levels of performance to evaluate students’
learning. These criteria form the basis for evaluating and reporting student progress. Teachers use their insight,
knowledge about learning, and experience with students, along with the specific criteria they establish, to make
judgments about student performance in relation to prescribed learning outcomes for each subject or course and grade.

FOUR ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF IMPLEMENTING CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT:

1. Purpose
a. To monitor student learning-measure what students have and have not learned and grade them
b. To provide feedback of student’s performance
c. To motivate the students by giving them positive reinforcement
2. Measurement

- A systematic process of obtaining a numerical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a
particular characteristic.
- A process by which attributes, traits, behavior or characteristics are determined and differentiated

Techniques:

 Test  Observations
 Ratings  Interviews
3. Evaluation

- Involves the interpretation of what has been gathered through measurement, in which value judgments are
made regarding performance.

4. Use

- The use of test scores and other information is closely tied to the decisions one must make to provide
effective instruction, and to the needs of students and parents

PURPOSES:

 To inform the teacher about a student’s progress

 To inform the students about their progress
 To inform others about the students’ progress(parents and future teachers)
 To provide information for the public
 Assessment of Learning

These purposes can be summed up into three:

i. assessment for learning(formative assessment)

- teachers use the students’ prior knowledge as a starting point of instruction

- the results of assessment are communicated clearly and immediately to the students to determine effective
ways to teach and learn

Examples:
 The MINUTE PAPER is a concise note, taking one minute and written by students, that focuses on a short question
presented by the instructor to the class. It provides real-time feedback from a class to find out if students
recognized the main points of a class session and also helps the instructor make changes for the next class.

 The CONCEPTEST consists of the instructor presenting one or more questions to a class along with several
possible answers, and students indicating which answer they think is correct. This type of assessment allows the
teacher to obtain immediate feedback on the level of class understanding, and to enhance teamwork and
communication skills among students as they work together to determine the correct answer.

ii. assessment of learning (summative assessment)

- used to identify what students know and can do and the level of their proficiency or competency
- the information is usually expressed as grades and is made known to the students, parents and other
stakeholders for better decision making.

Assessment is crucial part of any second language program; the teacher and the students need to have up to
date information about the students’ abilities, progress and overall development in the language. Summative
assessment plays a critical role in this information gathering process. By conducting a variety of forms of
summative assessment the teacher will have a good grasp of where their students are in the learning
process. While it is crucial that students’ work, abilities and progress be tracked and assessed throughout the
entire learning process, it is also imperative that teachers have proof of what the students have learned
during that process. It is the summative assessment that is used to determine grades and future directions
for students. Summative assessment tells both the teacher and the student what areas are clear to the
student, and which will require more work. For summative assessment to be effective and useful, the results
of a summative assessment need to be compared with some sort of a standard; this could be within the
class, city-wide, province/state-wide, national standards, etc.

Assessment tools

RUBRICS and CHECKLISTs are valuable and effective tools for summative assessment. They allow the teacher to set out the
criteria before the task is even given to students, thereby allowing everyone concerned to be aware of what is expected.
While they are useful, they can be challenging to create, especially for new teachers. The key to an effective rubric or
checklist is to ensure all of the necessary and appropriate criteria are included, and sufficient distinction is made
between different levels of performance so that student work can more easily be assessed.

iii. assessment as learning

- done for teachers to understand and perform well their role of assessing for and of learning
- teachers requires to undergo training on how to assess learning and be equipped with the competencies
needed in performing their work as assessors
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 Assessment of Learning

The purpose of assessment leads to development and improvement, and accountability and confidence.

FUNCTIONS OF ASSESSMENT

 temperature-taking function – describes the educational health of the country rather than individual students or
systems
 gate-keeping function – directs students along certain paths of learning based on the view that the school has a
social selection function
 feedback-to-teachers – provides information to teachers about the quality of their work
 objectives-achievement function – determines whether the course have been achieved
 appraisal-of-program function – provides an indication of the quality of the program

Assessment serves valuable functions for students in the classroom

 it concentrates attention on specific aspects of a subject

 it provides necessary feedback
 it redirects attention to particular areas to increase mastery
 it necessitates the consolidation of learning/practice of skills
 it facilitates the student’s self-assessment of his/her progress

IMPORTANCE OF ASSESSMENT

The results of assessment are generally used to:

 provide essential guide for planning, implementing and improving instructional programs and techniques
 monitor student progress
 promote learning by providing positive information like knowledge or results, knowledge of tasks well done,
good grades and praises
 measure the outcomes of instruction
 provide the parents with information on how well their children are doing in school

Resources:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/assessment/interactive.html
https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/classroom_assessment/
http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best%20of%20bilash/summativeassess.html